Wordless Wednesday - Repaired Card Photo

Before

After

 Not too shabby.  The more I do this, the less I swear when I'm doing it!  See...there are benefits!

Tuesday's Tip - Inputting Data on a Census Form - 1900

1900 U.S. Federal Census

Pet Peeve time...with a solution...

I love that Ancestry.com (and other sites) have blank copies of U.S. Census forms that you can print out and transcribe the results of your search in.  What I don't like is that I've found very few where you can actually type in the information and save it to your computer.

I was trolling the National Archives site checking out the info on the 1940 census last week and saw that they had a .pdf that you could input data into...but only for the 1940 census.  I checked a couple other years and found no others like this.  The down-side (apart from the 1940 census still being just under a year away)?  You can't save the data on the form.  So I conducted a quick Google search on blank census forms, got loads of hits, but nothing I found was what I wanted so I decided to make my own.

Sunday was my birthday and we have a tradition in our family.  Whoever's birthday it is gets to be "king" or "queen" for the day.  We adjust and take the Saturday closest to our birthday so we can make the most of that day.  You can have cake and ice cream for breakfast, sleep in, stay up late and pretty much do whatever you want as long as it's not dangerous or outrageously expensive.  As a mom who adores her children, what I wanted to do was have time to myself with a computer and coffee...so I went to Barnes and Noble.  This is where I started working on my version of the 1900 U.S. Census form that you can input and save your data to.  Yes, I know...this is what I chose to do on my birthday, but it's not all I did! :)

You can download the Excel spreadsheet, save it and use it as many times as your heart's content (as long as you rename the file, but we all knew that, right?).  Remember that if you save the spreadsheet and image of the census as the same name they'll be right next to each other in the folder you save them to...convenient!

You can print them out or not.  It doesn't matter because now that you can save the transcribed data on the form, you've got it on your computer for when you need it.  As long as you make sure to back up your data and ensure that you change/convert file-types with the times!

This is my first form and while it is very similar to the one on Ancestry.com I made sure that the information on the form is what the census asks, not what may have been abbreviated on the form or on their website (although they really didn't change too much).  The top of the form, is exactly (or as close to exact as I could get) to what is on the census as well.  I really don't like how the top of the Ancestry.com form looks at all.  I want to know the data at the top of the original census...period.

There's enough room on one form for 10 inhabitants.  I know that some families were larger than that, but most weren't and I didn't want to make the lines too small.  You can just fill in another form and specify in the "Comments" section of the sheet if it's not the only page.  Don't worry about accidentally typing into the header boxes either.  I've locked the sheet so you can only input in areas that you need to.

One drawback that I could not figure out...when typing in the data for an individual, when you hit the "tab" key to advance to the next box it won't go from #15 on the top of the form to #16 on the bottom so you can continue to input for that person.  You have to manually go there.  If anyone knows how to link the boxes on an Excel spreadsheet so that it will jump to that top box on the bottom set of data, please let me know!

NOTE:  When you open up the spreadsheet in Google Documents it has a blank page #1.  This will not be there when you download it.  No idea why this happens, but perhaps I'll figure it out when I work with Google Docs more.

DOWNLOADING ISSUES? 

There were some readers experiencing issues downloading the census form and were getting an error message while others aren't having any problems.  I made some changes, i.e. - reconnected the link, opened permissions more, and changed the file to an older version of Excel.  If you still can't get the document to download, just send me an email and I'll be more than happy to send you a copy!

Cheryl Cayemberg
HaveYouSeenMyRoots@gmail.com

Military Monday - Central Texas Casualties 2002-2003

Faces of the departed - 2002-2003

There is a beautiful monument at the Central Texas Veterans Cemetery for the region's casualties from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I figured that I would pay tribute here to those men and women of all services that gave their lives in this conflict.

Roll Call

SPC Curtis Carter

TSGT John A Chapman

SFC Nathan R Chapman

SPC Genaro Acosta

PFC Steven Acosta

SPC Richard S Arriage

SPC Jonathan P Barnes

SGT Michael P Barrera

CSM James D Blankenbecler

CW4 Clarence E Boone

SSG Kenneth Bradley

SPC Artimus Brassfield

PVT Matthew Bush

SPC Nathaniel A Caldwell

SPC Isaac Campoy

SGT Sean K Cataudella

CPL Gary B Coleman

CWO Alexander S Coulter

PFC Anthony D'Agostino

PFC Analaura Esparza-Gutierrez

PVT Jesse M Halling

SGT Atanasio Haro-Marin Jr

PFC RayShawn S Johnson

PFC Karina S Lau

 CPT Robert L Lucero

SSG Eddie E Menyweather

SGT Daniel K Methvin

SGT Keman L Mitchell

SPC Jose L Mora

SPC Joseph C Norquist

CPT Leif E Nott

1LT Osbaldo Orozco

SSG Dale A Panchot

SPC Wilfredo Perez Jr

SC James "Heath" Pirtle

SPC James E Powell

SPC Christian C Schultz

SPC Narson B Sullivan

CPT John R Teal

SSG Anthony O Thompson

PVT Scott M Tyrell

SGT Melissa Valles

SPC Frances M Vega

SPC Donal L Wheeler

SGT Steven W White

CPT George A Wood

SPC James Wright

May our Soldiers come home soon.

Follow Friday - 1940 Census Excitement!

I've got several posts that I've been wanting to share, but when I read this one, I had to share it...NOW!  I know we're all waiting with baited breath for the release of the 1940 US Federal Census and here's something from Heather Rojo at Nuttfield Genealogy to wet your whistle!

I'm deeply jealous that Heather got to attend the New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC), but I can put aside my jealousy because of the absolutely wonderful information she shared (as always)!  Thanks, Heather!

Check out Heather's post "1940 Census Sneak Peek for Genealogists" and let the excitement grow! April 2, 2012...I can't wait!

Treasure Chest Thursday - One of My Most Cherished Possessions

Lovely detailing on the spine.

The Bard on the front

Marian V. Brown

When I drove home to Pennsylvania last year, my mother gave me my Great Aunt Marian Brown's Complete Works of Shakespeare.  I adore The Bard and this meant (and still means) so much to me.  I couldn't find a publication date anywhere in the book.  It doesn't look like any pages came out, so I don't know if I'm just over-looking it or if it's just not there.

Marian Veronica Brown was the Theatre/Drama teacher at Hazleton High School.  Sadly, I don't know much about her that's fact (and when I say fact, I mean tales that have been verified).  She died far too young in my opinion.  I wish I had known her.  She is so far just stories.  Random mentions of a lady that my mom and her siblings know, and I don't.  It's one of those things that when you ask to know more not much gets said.  I really need to put together a list of questions for my mom and ask her face to face when I visit again in a few months.

There's a pretty good story about Marian having a love affair with a famous author, but I'll have to wait to post on that until I get home and get some details on that story!  Until then I can only cherish my Shakespeare tome. 

Wordless Wednesday - The Price Paid

I was taking some pictures today at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery for Find A Grave and saw this monument to the men and women that gave their lives in the service of America in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The front of the monument for each year has their pictures etched into the marble and on the back, a roll call of names.  I couldn't not  take a picture.  Next time I head out it will be with my good camera and not just my iPhone so I can get better pictures.  This is the stone for 2006.

Tuesday's Tall Tales - Run Out of Town

I've got this great uncle that's always fascinated me.  The bad boys always do.  He was the first bad boy I found in my family tree (not the last) and I was always interested in finding out if the tales were true.  This is what I had to go on...

Thomas Joseph Brown Jr. was the son of Thomas Sr and Mary nee Barrett and was born around 1905 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.  I was told that he was run out of town because of gambling and booze during prohibition.  He relocated to Elmira, New York, about a 2-1/2 hour drive (133 miles away).  What did he do in Elmira?  I'm told that he ran a whore-house.  Um...kay...My Uncle Ed also believed that Tommy joined the Army at some point, but it may not have been that long a tour of duty.

So I'm not 100% sure about the year of his birth.  It was estimated on the U.S. Census, but it should be close.  I was able to find a record for a Thomas J. Brown who served in the Army.  He enlisted in 1942 from Chemung County (Elmira is in Chemung) and was born in Pennsylvania in 1905.  Should be mine, but for some reason I never requested his military records.  I guess I wasn't so convinced it was him.  I'm half Irish and our names are fairly common...Brown?  Yeah, just think of how many Thomas Browns there could be.  I know, looking back at it I can think to myself that I was an idiot for not realizing it was him.  Call it inexperience!

No whore house found though.  Nothing verifying that he was "run out of town".  As far as we know he never married.  My uncle Ed (and he's been right or very near it with almost everything he's told me about family) said that he was buried in unconsecrated ground because of the things he'd done.  My grandfather, Edward Brown Sr, was said to have gone to Elmira to try to secure a burial place for him and perhaps to permit his burial in consecrated ground.  If he was successful, I don't know, but I did finally find his final resting place.

Last week I was fulfilling a request on Find A Grave and when I was done I decided to side-track myself a bit with my own family.  I tried locating Barrett relatives that moved to Buffalo, New York.  Not having much success with concrete matches, I turned to another line, and Tommy was the first I thought of.  He popped right up too.  The memorial had been there for years.  I couldn't believe it.  Had I really not searched for him on there before?  Either way, he was there, waiting for me to find him, nicely tucked away in Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira, NY....a veterans cemetery.

I immediately requested a picture of the gravestone and requested that his memorial be transferred to my care.  Within one, maybe two days, both had occurred.  I don't know why I was so delighted to find him.  I never knew him.  I was born 15 years after he died.  Perhaps it was the love of the hard find!  My uncle Ed was right again though.  Tommy died in 1957.

I've already sent away for his death certificate and military records.  With any luck I'll see them sometime in 2011, maybe 2012.  That won't stop me from finding more information though.  When I travel back to the Northeast this summer, I'll be diving into the local newspapers, both in Elmira and Hazleton.  I'll be checking for the obituary and see if it gives any clues to his purported shady past.  With any luck I'll find a picture.  What did he look like?...apart from being 67-inches tall and 107 pounds (short, skinny bugger!).  So many more questions and the tall tale hasn't been confirmed or denied, but I've got more to go on and that's just what I needed!